one heinous crime. the new leads being purr pseudoin a triple murder case. and users of a bay area money service may be in line for thousands of dollars. the unusual plan to get the word out. good evening. it's wednesday, february 20th. i'm gasia mikaelian, and this is bay area news at 7:00. the video shows an all-out brawl involving some 200 people on a busy night in san francisco's north beach but could anything be done to crack down? and our top story 7 rob ross looks at the frustrations and one possible solution. >> big brawl, huge brawl, call the cops, call it. call the cops. >> pushing, shoving, punches thrown. it happened early sunday morning in a parking lot on broadway. a series of fights broke out and took police more than an hour to break them up. by the time the dust settled, four part-time were arrest and

had two officers were injured, one was kicked in the head. >> it is frustrating. >> roger lived in north beach and a member of the neighborhood. he says he saw part of what happened. >> so these were folks that were very intoxicate and had that were pushed out from the club that were mingling with other folks that were in the street. these are 18-year-old that is drink on the street. that. >> this owner of a late night taqueria tells us what he says a drunken partier did two weeks ago. >> he threw the garbage can three times and finally went through the glass here. >> told me many offices have been pulled from patrolling north beach on weekend nights to more violent neighborhoods because of understaffing. >> we're working together with the community, the entertainment commission and the board of supervisors and, of course, the leadership of the mayor to make sure we get it safe. >> unfortunately this incident continues to highlight the need for more patrolling on broadway. >> tighter regulations for party

promoters and nightclubs but the problems persist. >> i've seen the good times, and i've seen the bad times. this is the low point unfortunately. >> one idea under consideration is the creation of a special community benefits district where business owners would pay a special fee with the extra money going to improvements such as increased security. in san francisco, rob ross ktvu channel 2 news. and now to sonoma county where investigators want to locate two men who may be linked in a triple homicide in forestville. we have surveillance videos to show you right here. police say the images of these two men were taken at a chevron station before the killings earlier this month. authorities say the two men may have been traveling in this ford ranger pickup truck. three men were found shot to death in a bedroom of this forestville home back on february 5th. investigators say that it was a marijuana deal gone bad. colorado man has already been arrested. authorities now want to talk to those two other men. a union city man wanted on several outstanding warrant social security behind bars tonight. our news chopper 2 is overhead

in hayward when police caught up with him just after 3:00 this amp. officers say they arrested 22-year-old solomon cruz espinoza after pursuit. the san leandro police officers says one of his offices suffered minor injuries. he's wanted for assault, domestic violence and vandalism. police in san jose are talking about how they've been locating and arresting human trafficking offenders and what's being done for the young victims. in the past year and a half the department has rescued 51 minors from prostitution. police are now asking the public to give them a call if they see underage girls or boys in situations that may involve prostitution. >> the children are ultimately the most important people for us to rescue. we want to get them out of that situation, but in the back picture is the offender. we truly want to get the offender off the street so he's not revictimizing other individuals. >> it'll focus on resources for young victims at a public meeting next month. at this hour a community meeting is getting underway at

the university of santa cruz university of california that is in santa cruz to address fears following two high-profile crimes. early last week a uc student was rob and had shot in the head as she waited at a bus stop. she did survive the attack and intends to return to school. this past saund 21-year-old woman said that she was raped on the campus footpath around noontime. university leaders say that police will update the public on both cases at tonight's meeting and welcome suggestions to enhance campus safety. more details now today santa cruz police offered a $5,000 award for information leading toth arrest and conviction of the person who shot and robbed that student at the bus stop. uc officials say they have extra security patrols on campus right now and they ramped up night time safety escorts to help students concerned about their safety move around campus. preliminary hearing was delayed today for a 32-year-old tie kwon doe instructor in redwood city. prosecutors have charged ralph ewe gene todd with lewd acts

with a person 14 and under, annoying and molesting a child and possession of pornography involving minors. he was an instructor at tai kwon do academy. tonight todd is out on bail and schedule today return to court april 10th. new at 7:00 unusual publicity campaign to inform victims of predatory lending practices that they may be entitled to thousands of dollars. live in san francisco where the city attorney who negotiated this million-dollar settlement launched a video campaign to get the word out. jana. >> that's right, gasia. we're in north beach and this is the video. it's they just posted it on you tube, the internet and social media sites in the past hour. the city attorney says this is very serious that check and go was charging some of its customers more than 400% interest. >> for people without bank accounts, cashing the check at oo payday lender such as check

and go can come at a steep price. >> about two weeks ago, cashed $500 check, charged me about 50 bucks. >> check and go was charging some customers more than 400% interest for online loans between 2006 and 2008. >> under state law you can't charge more than 36% apr. they were trying to skirt california law by partnering with out of state bank. >> the city attorney filed a lawsuit and last month the check and go company agreed to settle and pay up to $4.3 million to customers who were overcharged. mario is one of the customers receiving notices about the refunds which start at $20 and go up to more than 4600 dlshs. >> well, i feel good if i get money, though. i'm not really sure yet. >> tonight in san francisco a statewide video campaign is being launch today inform other possible victims about the settlement and a web site ca loan refund.org where they can

apply for the refund. >> to those businesses we say compete in the marketplace to those that want to skirt the law and take advantage of people down on luck, the message is we're watching and make sure the law is adhered to. >> the city attorney says there could be thousands of victims, but time is running short. the deadline for filing for a refund is march 28th. reporting live in san francisco, jana, ktvu channel 2 news. firefighters are trying to determine what caused a fire today in continue cost county that's left three people without a home. it happened diablo country club in danville. the couple lives in the unit says they woke up toth smell of smoke about 4:30 this morning. it took about an hour to put out the fire. the couple and another person who live in a downstairs room were displaced. there were no injuries. the golden gate bridge district today began a campaign to ease confusion. the bridge is being converted to all electronic tolls at the end

of march. today human toll takers handed out pamphlets describing the change. the district also launched new web pages to exchange tolling and is providing information on the 511 phone line. drivers crossing the bridge will have a choice of fast track or paying on a picture taken on their license plate number. >> well, in addition to improving customer convenience with all the choices we're saving money. we have a $66 million short fall for the coming five years and we'll be saving about $16 million over the next eight years. >> because of the change to electronic-only tolls, 14 toll takers will lose their job. some have been trained for other jobs. caltran says expect delays at the toll plaza on the richmond san rafael bridge over the next two weeks. workers are closing one toll lane at a time to install automated toll. google is on the publicity blits for its gloog l glass project. the mountain view company released new video today showing how people can use the glasses. google says the glass are voice

activated. users can instantly record video, share experiences with friends even translate foreign languages. the company also announced a week long online contest to win a chance to own the glasses but there is a catch. the winners will have to pay $1,500. yahoo users were introduced to a new home page today when they visit it had yahoo web site. the company says it hopes its redesign can reinvigorate its search engine which has lost users to competitors in rekrebt years. the new yahoo.com is designed to be simpler and more personal. it focuses on users' preferences. the home page can be customized to include news articles, stocks or flicker photos and videos. on wall street stocks went south. the dow fell 108 points, nasdaq lost 49. the minutes from the last meeting suggests that central brang is prepare today ratchet back its bond-buying efforts that have bven keeping interest rates near historic lows. two big box office retailers confirm their merger today. office depot and office max are

teaming up in an all stock deal worth $1.2 billion. the big box companies say the merger should put them in better position to compete with their even bigger competitor, staples. analysts say that the office supply industry is facing obstacles as more customers choose to buy online. >> kel log's is announcing a voluntary raul of one of its serials. we're talking about special k red berries. it's being pulled because packages may contain glass fragments. there are no reports of injuries. con sunlers can contact kellog's for a replacement coupon. for details on the packet you call just go to our web site it's ktvu.com. when you're there scroll down to find web links. a need for more police on the streets. now bay area agencies are adding officers. find out who's promising more hires. a new $6 million trail project with spectacular views that you can't use.

i'll tell you what happened here. the rain is long gone but the cold air remains in place. coming up the neighborhoods will be in the upper 20s first thing tomorrow morning and the one part of your weekend we could be dodging a few sprinkles.

. a joint rescue drill took place today to help first responders prepare for an emergency on the bay. stimulated a rescue from capsized boat. the main goal of the drill was to see how fast fire department diverse could get picked up by coast guard helicopters and just how fast the divers could get to victims. the bay area's largest cities have been suffering increasing crime amid decreasing police force bus that could soon

change. our david tells us which department bs are now hiring. . it also means more room for recruits for department that says it's 15% understaffed. >> we have a six-year hiring plan where we'll be hiring approximately 180 officers a year for the next six years will get us up to full staffing. >> san francisco and other bay area police and sheriff's departments are now rushing to recruit after years of layoffs and cutbacks. >> we have gone from 2008 with 837 officers. currently today we have 612 officers. >> oakland is set to graduate 41 new officers next month. the city saw a 19% rise in homicides between 2011 and 2012. >> we don't think you can ignore the fact that when you have reduction in staff, you're going to see crime rise. >> san jose's police department

is fighting recent layoffs and attrition to get back to a fully-staffed force. >> we need every warm body that we can, but that's only addressing half the problem. if you hire all of them and even if all of them hit the streets, if you're still dealing with retention problem, you still have a big problem on your hand sgls the new crop of san francisco recruits includes officers who left smaller departments in search of a bigger challenge. nadia is a former police officer. >> at san francisco, there are so many different assignments you can immerse yourself in different trainings and things like that, test for the assignment and then be a part of that assignment. >> this current crop of san francisco police department recruit social security set to graduate from the academy in july. in san francisco, david stevenson ktvu channel 2 news. bay area sample lg of entry-level salaries for sxaufs dep tis. san francisco police start out about $88,000 a year. continue cost sheriff's department starts at about 70 to 80,000. oakland police salaries start at just under $60,000 a year.

today a vallejo high school football coach filed suit against the catholic church over his firing. this is a story we first reported for you last month. that's when chris was fired in the hazing scandal of st. vincent st. patrick high school. he was the scapegoat for blowing the whistle on sexual hazings of groups of younger players by older ones. the district told us he was ultimately responsible for superstriegz students. cyclist lance armstrong has decided not to speak under oath toth u.s. antidoping agency to reveal what he knows about doping and cycling. agency officials told armstrong he must speak with them if he wanted to reduce his lifetime ban from sports. the agency said today was the deadline for him to agree toth interview under that offer. armstrong says he won't participate in quote a process designed to demonize selected individuals. final arguments are expected in just a few hours in the bail hearing for south african track

star oscar pistorius. he is charged in pre-meditated murder in the death of his girlfriend. the story says he shot her accidentally believing he was a burglar. earlier a detective offered conflicting testimony at one point agreeing with pistorius's defense that officers had no evidence challenging his claim that he accidentally shot steenkamp. crosss to honor the victims now marked the side of the former station nightclub in west woolrick. the fire on february 20th, 2003, started when pyrotech nicks for the 80s band great white ignited flammable foam that had been installed as soundproofing. work is expected to start soon on a permanent memorial at the site of that fire. a popular walking trail san francisco's precid owe is now off limits despite a recent seven-figure makeother. as health and science editor john fowler explains, you can blame at least some of it on the weather. >> it's the presidio's trail

often crowded with tourists because of this iconic view. after a $6 million upgrade last summer record rain in december washed out 65 feet and it's still not fixed frustrating regulars. >> some guys working down here, but this has been since before christmas. i haven't seen anything since the beginning of the year probably. >> black plastic covers the slumping cliff. residents call it an eye sore and traffic hazard on busy lincoln boulevard. >> just ridiculous and whoever -- whoever built this should be accountable. >> should have done some engineering studies and maybe figured that out before. >> a joint project of the presidio trust golden gate national park and golden gate national recreation area there's no plan yet for repairs. engineers still need something. >> watch it through more rainstorms to see how it reacted, and it stopped raining. >> part of the problem is the soil here, somewhat hardened sand that is notoriously unstable. officials say they are committed

to repairs, they just can't say when. in san francisco health and science editor john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. one east bay neighborhood is facing a foul problem. a flock of wild turkeys set up home in trees and backyards and just about anywhere else they can settle in. we'll show you another amateur video of the birds making their way down core nel street in albany. about 30 of the birds made themselves at home in one woman's backyard redwood tree. she says they wake up her children, make a mess of her yard, and she wants them gone. neighbors say they've gone toth city, the county, even the state for help but so far they say no agency stepped up to help. san francisco's chinese new year parade is just a few days away, saturday to be exact, and workers have been very busy creating the float. 24 of the 25 floats are being built in a warehouse. the master float builder david thomas says they've gotten fancier and it takes a lot longer to build them so he had to call in extra help to make

sure these floats are ready. if you can't make it out toth parade, you can watch it over on ktvu channel 2 news. our live coverage starts 6:00 p.m. on saturday. a growing problem in lakes around the world has now apparently landed in lake tahoe. coming up the human connection to what's become a fishy predicament. cold weather settling in for the night. meteorologist will let us know where it's going to be in the 20s by morning. and if you're on the go or just away from your tv, you can still watch ktvu news casts live on your computer smart phone or tablet. get the app or go to ktvu.com. mom, i invited justin over for lunch.

good. no, not good. he's a vegetarian and he's going to be here in 20 minutes! [ mom ] don't stress. we can figure this out. ♪ [ male announcer ] get the speed to make a great first impression. call today to get u-verse high speed internet for as little as $14.95 a month for 12 months with a one-year price guarantee. this is delicious. ♪ [ male announcer ] save the day in an instant. at&t. ♪

. the chp is still clearing roads after a storm dumped 6 inches of snow on the sonora area. more than two dozen vehicles were stranded or involved in accidents. that includes that school bus that actually went over an embankment yesterday afternoon. four student sxts driver suffered cuts and bruises. many schools in the area were closed today because of the conditions there on the road. here in the bay area, noticeably warmer and that is a change i think we all like. >> yeah. a little bit of a break in all that winter weather, gasia, and we have a break over the next few days. into the weekend notice a little tiny chance of a few sprinkles but first talk about tonight,

clear skies across most of the bay area. yesterday's storm at least evidence of that heading out toth south and toth east moving into arizona so here's the latest on the satellite. you'll see just a few high clouds approaching the north bay counties. that's just about it. no rain drops expected from those clouds but the cold air remains in place. you can see the projected lows first thing tomorrow morning. we're talking about some upper 20s out toward napa and santa rosa. san jose starting out the morning 38 degrees and san francisco at the 43 so mostly clear and cold, maybe a patch or two of some fog in some of the inland valleys of the north bay. so forth tonight just want to bundle up in the short term. tomorrow fair skies and in the weekend morning clouds for saturday but skies becoming partly sunny into the afternoon. here is our old system moving out toth south and to the east. clear skies and all the rain and snow is not in our weather picture anymore as high pressure continues to build out here in the pacific the storm track heads way up to our north dry weather forecast thursday, friday. i could almost extend this into the weekend but there is a

slight chance of a few sprinkles for saturday morning but it's a minimal chance. take this into thursday at 5:00 mostly clear skies out there. into friday a few high clouds paying us a visit. notice om rain showers up to our north up along the north coast. early saturday morning talking really early about 5:00 lots of cloud cover out there and we could have a few sprinkles most likely before sunrise and then the clouds do move out of town for the afternoon hours. so most of the weekend 99% of it looks pretty good but still on the cool side. forecast highs for tomorrow will continue to warm things up a little bit. warmest locations approaching the lower 60s out towards santa rosa and napa. upper 50s for san francisco and richmond and oakland in the upper 50s, as well. san jose forecast high of 60 and half-moon bay 57. these temperatures checking in about 3:00 tomorrow afternoon. here is a look ahead. your five-day forecast with your weekend always in view and your weekend rapidly approaching. you'll notice tem up a little bit other the next couple days but the mornings definitely want to bundle up with chilly

numbers, upper 20s and 30s colder spots. slight chance of few sprinkles saturday morning. most of your weekend is dry. could be tracking a few more rain showers by monday of next week. over the next few days looking pretty good. definitely want to bundle up at least in the morning hour sfls thank you. there are new concerns tonight about non-native fish multiplying in lake tahoe and in this case it's giant goldfish. tahoe is one of many places where the goldfish have been turning up recently. people emptying fish bowling or aquariums are likely introducing the fish into lakes and streems. the goldfish often thrive in a new environment and as you can see from that picture grow very large. researchers say if the numbers grow, goldfish could ultimately affect tahoe's clarity. thank you for trusting ktvu channel 2 news. we'll see you the next time news breaks. i'm gasia mikaelian and our coverage continues with the 10:00 news and tonight the innocent-sounding drugs that's said to be growing in

popularity. we investigate why molly is suddenly mainstream. keep in mind we're always here for you at ktvu.com. tmz is up next right here on tv 36.